Inside the Global Insider-Trading Ring: How M&A Leaks Fueled Multi-Million Dollar Scams

This case underscores the increasingly transnational and sophisticated nature of insider trading networks—moving beyond isolated tip-givers to structured rings that recruit insiders, traders, and shell facilitators across continents, leveraging technology and complex financial vehicles. Khouadja’s background at Merrill Lynch (ended in 2014) gave him access and credibility, while his restaurant in Paris provided a physical front for coordination. [1][3]

The timeline—from 2016 through 2024—suggests a long-running, evolving operation, surviving multiple regulatory and law enforcement cycles. Its longevity raises questions about detection gaps in cross-border information leakage, encrypted communications, and the role of financial intermediaries in facilitating trades. [2]

Strategically, this indictment sends a strong signal by U.S. prosecutors: jurisdictional reach over activities that span Europe, Asia, and the Middle East; targeting fugitives abroad; seeking extradition. Entities facilitating leaks—bankers, corporate insiders, but also journalists—are in the mix, increasing systemic legal and reputational risks. [2]

Open questions include: How did this network obtain inside information for deals years before public announcements? What role did financial institutions have in either preventing or unwittingly facilitating the insider tipping? What oversight gaps allowed operations using codewords and burner technology to go undetected? And finally, what will be the outcome of extradition efforts, especially for Zhi Ge and the others abroad?